To think my GP just dismissed me

Stress and headaches- yes I’d expect the GP to help with those!
Why didn’t the GP men another appointment then, instead of just referring her to physio? Sometimes different symptoms are interrelated
The GP didn’t seem very sympathetic imo.

Most people just need to do some exercises and take some responsibility for themselves instead of expecting either a magic pill or full blown diagnostics.

I accept that if I have something serious, I'd be in trouble if I have to rely on my GP to pay attention to what I'm saying. He's not interested.
I have pain in my lower back, I did manage to get an in person appointment. He asked me to stretch my arms up and asked me if the pain moved. It feels intense. He just said it's muscular, take pain killers.
It's not muscular, I know it's internal, I called for another appointment with the other GP, I explained that to the receptionist. The same GP called me back and berated me for asking for someone else.
The practice manager won't speak to anyone. I'm stuck.

All the symptoms can be explained by stress. It makes sense for the GP to try antidepressants first. If they don’t work, you can go back for further examination.

They're not all like you. Most people are given a print out and told to return in a bit.

I stand corrected, had no idea how much physios could do!

I'm a physio. We definitely provide a diagnosis and the consensus in the evidence base is that when it comes to musculoskeletal conditions we do this more accurately than GPs (who i think are fab). I work in GP practices, most patients can see me within a week without seeing their GP. I have an undergraduate degree and a masters degree, I can prescribe medication, request bloods and scans (in my area physios have the ability to request a greater variety of investigations than GPs) and I can refer on to anywhere the GP can. I am able to direct refer for joint or spinal injections and can take cases to conference with a variety of surgeons. My training covered the recognition of conditions that masquerade as musculoskeletal pain (cancers, infections, neuro, inflammatory conditions etc). I contribute to the training of GPs in musculoskeletal conditions and the management of chronic pain. I work really closely with GPs everyday, their job is hard and their input is valuable. Some of the things going on in the NHS are absolutely awful, but I truly believe that being able to see a physio as a first contact or self-refer is a positive thing.

self refer to physio means you refer yourself.
Unless there's something on the page saying you can't self refer for a particular pain, you just do it.
This is one local to me
physiodirect.northerncarealliance.nhs.uk/

What's your solution? To not offer a referral because patients exercise their right not to engage with treatment? I expect if we took away all the physio referrals, there would be an uproar as well.
Ultimately, nobody can force you to engage. We have plenty of in-person groups as well and drop off rate is very high. People prefer to take medication rather than explore self-management strategies. It's their choice really. We are obligated to continue to "waste money" by running the service because there isn't really any alternative and people who do engage still benefit.

How did we get to the point we accept such low standards?

Getting physio on the NHS where I live is quite difficult. In the past my GP has told me to go on to certain websites and look at the exercises. This has helped me as much as going to a physiotherapist. Exercises do help BUT only if you do them. The NHS wastes so much money by physiotherapists giving people exercises they just don’t do. I refused to take an elderly aunt to see her physio because she didn’t do the exercises after the last time she went.

I find some of the replies
Here really weird. How can a doctor diagnose a problem without knowing rhe symptoms? And there is absolutely no way for the patient to know which symptoms are relevant- they could all be linked or part of seperate issues- so mentioning them all seems logical to me.

As various posters have said - stress can cause all she symptoms here, the shoulder pain could be causing the other ones, it could be hormonal, or it could be four or five completely seperate issues. How on Earth is the OP supposed to know - this is the doctor's job! Isn't it?

The problem is the lack of time a GP has, not the number of symptoms a person has.

Depends where you are. Our PCN (primary care network) employs a small team of physios shared around the locality. Our patients can self refer or be referred by us and are seen usually within a week. I referred a chap on the 27th December and he was seen the same day.

The general public really needs to change their view of thinking that GPs are the go to for everything, and they are being “fobbed off” if they’re told to see someone else. There are so many other HCPs or services that can be infinitely more appropriate or helpful. Within our PCN we have:
GPs
ANPs
Nurse practitioners
Practice Nurses
HCAs
Phlebotomists
PAs
Pharmacists
Physios
Paramedics
Social prescribers/living well teams

With our increasingly ageing and unwell population it is entirely proper that GPs skills are directed at the patient care that only they can do. There are plenty of other people that can offer care. That’s the whole point of having a well skill mixed team.

All of the areas to discuss are likely symptoms - could be of one thing or a few - this non holistic one thing per appt is a bit odd for this. All of these could for e.g. point to perimenopause, stress in general, split into a number of things a bit of peri, an arm injury requ straight forward physio or could be something else.

They probably were dismissive in their approach - many middle aged women go in with this sort of vagary and they tire of seeing it - not saying thats a good approach

Fair enough I stand corrected, I didn't know they could do so much!

Quite. Some responses here are insane, and seem to be posters berating an OP for the sake of it.

I very much agree with this. I hope you find help, OP 🍀
You also say you are a single mother to a young DC: do you have any support? It must be very stressful and the problem with stress is that we've all been numbed to the term, but it can be very serious. (Not saying it's only stress, but that the stress should not be happily dismissed, as many doctors do).

I am taking the same medication for insomnia and headaches.

Yes, and that's the job of a Physio.

It's rarely used as an antidepressant these days as there are better, less sedating options for that. It's mostly used now for sleep problems and pain relief as it relaxes the muscles. I was recently prescribed it because of shoulder pain by my orthopedic surgeon.

A PT can very much diagnose MSK conditions. They are trained to do exactly that. They can rule out differential diagnoses, order scans and refer on to a medical professional for issues that fall outside of their scope of practice. Band 7 AHPs often have diagnostic powers in specialist services. Our entire service is run by AHPs without medical oversight. We do refer to medical services if there are any indications of possible underlying disorder which we identify in the initial assessment.
My partner went through a physio with hip pain who ruled out muscular issues and subluxation through physical examination, ordered scans and referred on the rheumatology with suspected psoriatic arthritis which was later confirmed. This was after multiple GP appointments and refusing to see a physio for 18 months because "they are not a doctor".

I also think she didn’t try and get to the cause of why I felt stressed

Did you tell her the cause? Do you know it? Was there any hope of unpacking it in such an appointment? I think if a person goes to a GP because of stress, it's usually presenting that as the issue and needing to get signed off work or similar. That can be dealt with and they can be helpful and supportive. If it's more of a vague/general feeling stressed along with several other issues, they're not going to start digging into what might be causing the stress. That's the kind of thing a counsellor does and it's not a short conversation. If you think the headaches are stress-related and the stress is from something known in your life, then again that's something you'd have to resolve, not a medical issue. As others have said, the meds might well help the sleep issue which might help the stress to some extent and then the headaches and shoulder too if they're related. Meanwhile the physio can assess and help you with the shoulder. It sounds like the GP made some progress on at least two of the issues in 10mins. It's clear at our surgery that you aren't meant to bring more than one issue per appointment, so perhaps it was the receptionist being unrealistic that's the issue.

I think it was quite reasonable actually, she's gone for a sedative/anti-depressant to see if that helps with the insomnia. Stress causes insomnia and insomnia causes headaches so it's a sensible option.

The shoulder pain will be much better tackled by a physio who will have the time and specialist skills to assess it properly.

Try the drugs for a few weeks, there's nothing to stop you going back if they don't work.

Self referral to physio is standard now in the NHS. If you are lucky you will get a message in about a year asking you if you still need the referral 🙄

The current situation with GPs is completely impossible for both parties: doctor and patient.
I have been waiting weeks for an appointment to discuss the tingling/numbness/ weakness/loos of function in my limbs. It is seriously impacting on my life. It could be a whole raft of things .... one of the many drugs I am on for a heart problem, musculoskeletal, neurological .... no way is he going to be able to look into all this in 10 minutes .... it is a farce!